Israeli fans ‘deliberately attacked’ after football match in Amsterdam; 5 hospitalized

AMSTERDAM – Maccabi Tel Aviv were fans attacked by attackers at night after a football match Amsterdamhospitalizing five people and arresting dozens, Dutch authorities said – labeling the attacks as anti-Semitic.

It was not immediately clear how the violence started.

Video showed Israeli fans chanting anti-Arab slogans in the street before the match against Ajax Amsterdam. Peter Holla, the city’s acting police chief, told a news conference that the fans were “deliberately attacked.” He added that people on scooters were carrying out hit-and-run attacks, making it difficult for police to track them.

“There is no excuse for the anti-Semitic behavior displayed last night by rioters who actively sought out Israeli supporters to target and assault them,” the Amsterdam municipality said of the attacks.

Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attacked: what happened?

Before the match, video also showed a large crowd of Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters chanting anti-Arab slogans. “Let the IDF win, and (expletive) the Arabs,” the fans chanted, using the acronym for the Israeli army, as they shook their fists, according to the Associated Press.

Maccabi fans have used the same chant during recent matches in Israel. It also showed police pushing several pro-Palestinian protesters away from a Maccabi fan who gathered in a square earlier in the day.

It was not immediately clear when and where the violence broke out on Thursday evening.

The Dutch capital’s municipality, police and public prosecutor’s office said rioters actively sought out Israeli supporters to target and assault them in various parts of the city. “Police had to intervene several times, protecting Israeli supporters and escorting them to hotels,” they said.

Ofek Ziv, a Maccabi fan from the Israeli city of Petah Tikva, told the Associated Press that he and a friend left the stadium after the match. Someone – he didn’t see who – threw a rock at him, hitting him on the head and causing bleeding. He said a group of Arab men began chasing him before he and his friend quickly got into a taxi to pick up other fans. They took shelter in a hotel.

“I am very scared, it is very striking. This should not happen to anyone, especially not in Amsterdam. Many friends have been hurt, injured, kidnapped, robbed and the police have not come to help us,” he told police. AP.

The Amsterdam police announced in a message on According to the Amsterdam public prosecutor, René de Beukelaer, more than sixty people have been arrested, ten of whom were still in custody on Friday.

“This is simply anti-Semitic violence against Israelis,” said Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, calling the attacks “downright scandalous and reprehensible.”

After the overnight violence, Israel ordered two planes to be sent to the Dutch capital to take the Israelis home, but later the prime minister’s office said it would work to “provide civil aviation solutions for the return of our citizens’.

A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that “the harsh images of the attack on our citizens in Amsterdam will not be overlooked,” and that Netanyahu “views the horrific incident with the utmost seriousness.” He demanded that the Dutch government take “strong and swift action” against those involved.

Security concerns have shrouded matches involving Israeli teams in several countries over the past year global tensions related to the wars in the Middle East. Ahead of Thursday evening’s Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, Amsterdam authorities had banned a planned pro-Palestinian demonstration near the stadium.

Still, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema told reporters on Friday that the Dutch anti-terror watchdog said there was no concrete threat to Israeli football fans before the match.

Authorities said extra police will patrol Amsterdam in the coming days, and security will be beefed up at Jewish institutions in the city, which has a large Jewish community and was home to World War II Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family while hiding from the Nazi occupiers.